Ideas for new Companions

Iexo_Peoa

I have two, as follows:

First, Arox the Mutilator. Can't equip armor or equipment, wear costumes, or have Outfits; and fights like a Daedrat. However, as he levels, he can generate missions akin to a guild skill line, that continue his quest to restore his original form. After level 20, the final mission finds a way that he can channel power to restore his original form on demand, but only temporarily. After that mission, he gains the ability to transform into his original form as an Ultimate, that works like werewolf, continuing until the fight is over, at which point he returns to a Daedrat.

Second: Shazaa/Khali. Available only after the player completes the main Dominion quest arc, the mission is "hidden" behind a dialog line from the Khajiit fortune teller that appears on the roads of Blackwood. Each interaction he could have an increasing chance of telling the player that he sees someone left behind in Coldharbor. When asked for clarification, he could say that he only knows that the God of Schemes kept someone hidden for leverage later, and suggests talking to someone at the Mages Guild. The quest could then become available from someone at the Mages Guild in Leyawiin to return to Coldharbor, fight your way into the prison where she's being kept after being ripped away by Molag Bal (similarly to how Javad Tharn was), and free her. Afterward, either she decides to go with you to defend Elsweyr and the rest of Tamriel, or she has nowhere to go, either because of the destruction of Pridehome, or because they refuse her due to her experiences in "Den of Lorkhaj" (whichever fits the lore best). The lore complications of this would be where companions being nameless to players besides their own comes in handy. I understand that everyone dies in Bethesda games, but seeing as other "dead" characters were seen as captives in Coldharbor (albeit enemies who mostly die in one way or another upon encounter), it's not outside the realm of possibility for this to happen. In addition, this situation presents a unique opportunity to introduce a companion the player already knows, but that can't appear as an NPC in the world due to technical/lore constraints, and whose absence from the world wouldn't be strange if the companion quest isn't taken.


If anyone has more, feel free to post!

phaneub17_ESO

I would prefer they stick to original, unseen characters than reusing old ones, also keeping companions accessible by either owning the chapter/dlc or acquiring through ESO+ be the bare minimum to do their quests. You might be disappointed by old characters having to be recast with new voice actors if they can't get the same person to do it, even if they did there's a good chance it still won't sound quite the same due to age difference of the performer.

But anyway, a reposting of my expectations of future companions:

A brawny, female Bosmer Warden, using the "by Kyne its Humid" hairstyle with the Beast personality.
Found in the wilderness cliché who knows nothing of the Green Pact and is a vegan, no meat, it disgusts her especially the smell of it being cooked. What makes her backstory even weirder is her ultimate is 'Werewolf' transformation... who doesn't eat meat, so her transformation is weaker than the average werewolf and cannot maintain the form for too long.

Class Skills
Beast Friends: Dive, Scorch, Swarm.
Dive - Calls down a flying squirrel to bite for X physical damage and setting her target off-balance for 7 seconds.
Scorch - Summons a boar to charge into her enemies dealing X physical damage and knock down for 4 seconds.
Swarm - Calls a flock of birds to peck dealing X bleed damage to her target and nearby enemies over 8 seconds.
Nature's Command: Fungal Growth, Living Vine, Nature's Grasp.
Cold Resolute: Frost Cloak, Impaling Shards, Crystalized Shield.
Frost Cloak - Protects her and her allies with a frozen barrier, reducing damage taken by 20% and heals X amount over 8 seconds.
Ultimate: Werewolf form, lasts 16 seconds. Contributes to Call of the Pack passive.
Racial Passive: 3% increased duration to buffs and debuffs, 3% increased critical strike chance.

An androgynous, male Altmer Necromancer with the Duchess personality.
He is quite the womanizer who is also a Vampire... these stupid tropes just don't go away!

Class Skills
Play with Bones: Ruinous Scythe, Bone Armor, Bone Totem.
Grave Digger: Venom Skull, Boneyard, Shocking Siphon.
Night is Young: Resistant Flesh, Enduring Undeath, Restoring Tether.
Ultimate: Vampire form, lasts 16 seconds.
Racial Passive: 20% increased Ultimate generation, 3% increased damage done.

Then we start all over from the beginning on classes.

An adventurous, female Argonian Dragon Knight with the Treasure Hunter personality. You fall into a pit with no way out, only to meet certain doom when this Argonian comes in to rescue you and helps lead you out of a maze of ruins. She now believes you are indebted to her for saving your life, allowing you to accompany her travels.

Class Skills
???: Venomous Claw, Noxious Breath, and Empowering Chain.
???: Hardened Armor, Protective Scale, Inhale
???: Obsidian Shard, Shattering Rock, Ash Cloud
Ultimate: A combination of Dragon Leap + Corrosive Armor, so she always in range to use it regardless of weapon.
Racial Passive: 3% increased healing done, 3% reduced damage taken.

Jim_Pipp

These would be fantastic!

The story-telling for the current companions is so much about their family drama's.

Companions are the perfect vehicle for great elder scrolls story-telling, an individual perspective, giving their unreliable naration, of a certain corner of the lore.

Op's ideas not only explore obscure corners of law, the progression system connects the companions growth with moving the story forward (especially with Khali, but arguably with Arox's return to form). It's just so much more impactful/meaningful.

I'm absolutely fine with non-humanoid companion models that don't visually show equipped armor, especially if it introduced a Neried companion seeking revenge for the destruction of her home, or a former minotaur chief exhiled because he argued with the herd shaman.

ectoplasmicninja

Awesome ideas. I was leaning toward a crotchety Bosmer druid who feels compelled to accompany you because he's appalled by your lack of guidance on such a dangerous path, but I'd be down for a vegan werewolf too.

phaneub17_ESO wrote: »

An adventurous, female Argonian Dragon Knight with the Treasure Hunter personality. You fall into a pit with no way out, only to meet certain doom when this Argonian comes in to rescue you and helps lead you out of a maze of ruins. She now believes you are indebted to her for saving your life, allowing you to accompany her travels.

The only thing I would change is that she should believe that since she saved your life, you are now her responsibility, so she feels compelled to adventure with you. That feels like a uniquely Argonian perspective IMO - a minor change, but would add flavour.

Bobargus

I want Elam Drals as my companion. Or a Dark Brotherhood member of any kind.

By the way, i absolutely loved the idea of completing main zones to unlock companions.

That daedbat companion idea is pretty cool as well.

Iexo_Peoa

Jim_Pipp wrote: »

These would be fantastic!

The story-telling for the current companions is so much about their family drama's.

Companions are the perfect vehicle for great elder scrolls story-telling, an individual perspective, giving their unreliable naration, of a certain corner of the lore.

Op's ideas not only explore obscure corners of law, the progression system connects the companions growth with moving the story forward (especially with Khali, but arguably with Arox's return to form). It's just so much more impactful/meaningful.

I'm absolutely fine with non-humanoid companion models that don't visually show equipped armor, especially if it introduced a Neried companion seeking revenge for the destruction of her home, or a former minotaur chief exhiled because he argued with the herd shaman.

Oh these are neat ideas! Always wanted a chance to be on friendly terms with a minotaur, they're so obviously sentient, and even contributed to the history of Tamriel, and it seems such a shame they're little more than monsters in gameplay.

ADarklore

I just want a sarcastically witty Companion like Abnur Tharn who speaks the truth but in the most sarcastic way possible. I always enjoyed having Tharn with me through the MSQ... and the others hated him because he, while speaking the truth, didn't pull any punches with it. His colorful descriptions of the others were also quite entertaining.

MJ202

ADarklore wrote: »

I just want a sarcastically witty Companion like Abnur Tharn who speaks the truth but in the most sarcastic way possible. I always enjoyed having Tharn with me through the MSQ... and the others hated him because he, while speaking the truth, didn't pull any punches with it. His colorful descriptions of the others were also quite entertaining.

I have to go with an emphatic no way on Abnur. I don't know what it is about him that makes me prefer fingernails on a blackboard to the sound of his voice.

Nightowl_74

I second Elam Drals, or a DB companion with a dry sense of humor. Someone with enthusiasm about using the blade of woe and completing contracts, not just uncaring one way or the other.

It's nothing that would have occurred to me if I hadn't run across the One Last Adventure quest, but I really enjoyed Viggol and the dynamic of having a well spoken older companion with a storied adventuring career behind them. One who comments here and there about past heroic exploits and their plans after retirement, maybe. Essentially, a settled character in a long term relationship who doesn't really offer wisdom (not a philosophical sage type) but does speak from a place of experience in life. That probably doesn't sound particularly interesting to most people, but after having Mirri and Bastian with me a lot I was reminded by Viggol's quest of how young they both seem.